This story is part of The 89 Percent Project, an initiative of the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now, which includes ICT.
Stewart Huntington
ICT
Since 1970, people all around the world have set aside April 22 as Earth Day, pausing to focus on caring for the planet.
Since time immemorial, of course, Indigenous peoples have been doing the same thing. Every day.
“This is about how we think, how we live, our ways of knowing … about being human,” said Inuit leader Sara Olsvig, chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council and a former member of the Greenland and Danish Parliaments. “And also being human in close interaction and with nature. It represents our worldview of humans not being separate from nature.”
The one-day focus of Earth Day — although in some circles the commemoration has grown to become Earth Month — can strike a slightly discordant note to Native ears.
“It’s an odd thing to even say, ‘Oh, it’s Earth Day,’” said Penobscot citizen Darren Ranco, an anthropology professor at the University of Maine. The Penobscot are Wabanaki – the People of the Dawnland – and are taught to greet the sunrise every day and appreciate their place in the natural world, their connection with the earth.
“That connects us to our places,” Ranco said. “I think the cultural framing [of having a single Earth Day], of course, is quite different.”
Native people are still leading the way, however, in approaching climate change and the efforts to preserve and protect the natural environment. A worldwide survey found that 89 percent of people across the continents believe their country should do more to fight climate change.
Researchers reached out to people in 125 countries that account for 96 percent of the world’s carbon emissions, with the results published in the journal, Nature Climate Change. People in China, the world’s biggest polluter, were among the most concerned, with 97 percent saying its government should do more to fight climate change.
The United States, the world’s second biggest polluter, was near the bottom but still had 74 percent of its citizens saying its government should do more. New Zealand, Norway and Russia were also relatively low-scoring.
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The percentage of Native people who believe the same is likely even higher.
“I always say that, Planet Earth, Mother Earth, would be in a much better place if we had more Indigenous lawmakers,” said Whitney Gravelle, the president of Michigan’s Bay Mills Indian Community.
“Because the way we think about decision making … is deeply rooted in our teachings,” Gravelle said. “We’re always thinking of those future generations, and how the decisions we make today are going to impact future generations. We never think about ourselves. We never think selfishly. We’re always thinking of how we can take care of others, take care of Mother Earth, so that we’re providing for future generations. I know that’s inherent in all of the values that we carry as Indigenous people.”
A single-day celebration of Earth Day doesn’t get in the way of welcoming fellow travelers, however. It provides an opportunity for education and the spreading of Indigenous values, Gravelle said.
“It’s is a wonderful opportunity for education, especially since so much of the rest of the world then becomes focused on Mother Earth and how we are going to be taking care of her,’” she said. “So if there’s one thing we can do on Earth Day, it’s to educate others of those values and how we can all find a way to exist and make meaningful progress that takes everyone into consideration.”
Sherri Mitchell, a Penobscot citizen and executive director of Maine’s Land Peace Foundation, agreed.
“We as Indigenous people have become accustomed to having things stolen from us,” she said. “Though we do not want to encourage the continuation of this behavior, these are ideas worth stealing.”
‘Core cultural values’
Mitchell is using Earth Day to help share that knowledge
She’s helping to organize a march – the Journey of Peace and Friendship – that kicks off on Earth Day on the Penobscot Reservation and ends a week later at the statehouse in Bangor. It’s open to a wide range of faith leaders – Sikh, Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Indigenous and others – and “all who come in a spirit of peace and friendship.”
“We’re not interested in being a voice for what we don’t want, we want to be a voice for what we do want,” she said. “We want to stand up for our core cultural values as Indigenous people: kinship,collective care, kindness, inclusion, acceptance, compassion and deeper understanding. Earth Day is the perfect opportunity to model for others the welcoming spirit and generosity that Mother Earth has modeled for us.”
The effort could also move the dial on combatting climate change.The worldwide study indicates that climate change is of primary concern and that 80 to 89 percent of people think their government should do more.
Those numbers might be low in Indian Country, said Ranco.
“The different kinds of studies and data points that I’m aware of and the oral traditions and cultures that I’m constantly exposed to as an Indigenous academic would tell me that it’s always of greater concern in Native communities,” he said.
“I think there are a bunch of different reasons for that. You have, of course, the ongoing commitments to caretaking and relational responsibility that Indigenous people continue to carry out as it relates to our mother, the Earth. And then you have the very real experiences of people who are living closer to the land.”
Native people are also feeling the impacts of climate change in their communities, where rising sea levels, flooding, droughts, wildfires, increasingly strong hurricanes and heat are wreaking havoc.
“A lot of Indigenous people are experiencing the impacts of climate changes already, and they’re very much more keenly aware that the climatic change is happening in a way that has never happened while humans have been living on this planet,” Ranco said.
Increasingly, they are stepping up to address the realities of the Anthropocene.
“In some ways, that’s part of why indigenous people, around the world, have assumed such important leadership roles around climate, justice and, and conservation work independent from any particular political moment,” said Ranco.
“We’re rising up for something that’s a deeper or more fundamental moment around sort of our condition as humans,” Ranco said. “Our responsibility doesn’t end at the reservation lines. It’s a universal responsibility that is part of our teachings.”
Looking ahead
Olsvig, drawing on years of experience watching Arctic treaties negotiated and signed, wants to see more of those teachings in practice.
“Often we see international agreements built on the basis of a worldview that humans and nature are separate things. And for us, it’s not,” Olsvig said. “So when we are there pushing for not just our knowledge, but our worldviews to be included into these [agreements] and new approaches to conservation. … We come with the worldview that humans are inseparable from nature, that we are one.”
It’s a perspective that has worldwide implications.
“I think that we share with Indigenous peoples from all over the world, and we must continue to stand shoulder by shoulder in that very important push because we see time and time again that decisions are taken without us,” Olsvig said.
“And so we need to maintain our push and stay in the seats at the table wherever we’ve created those seats,” she said. “And if we don’t have a seat, we have to kick in the door and make sure that Indigenous peoples are part of the negotiations.”
This story is part of The 89 Percent Project, an initiative of the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now, which includes ICT. It includes some material from Covering Climate Now and The Guardian.
